The Last of the Marauders
by JkReviewer
Summary: You would never understand... the assailant cried. We were brothers!Some bonds run deeper than anything, and as such what is not worth sacrificing to preserve them... even if it might already seem to late? The last of the marauders... OneShot atm


**LEGEND REWRITTEN **by JKReviewer

**Prologue – The last of the Marauders **

Time seemed frozen, stranded in this light forsaken place, he thought, as he surveyed his opponent through his battle focused eyes. Their usual sparkle of nobility and decency replaced with an almost fanatical gleam of determination. This had been no easy battle, and he had never thought it would be. The man before him, his opponent, his obstacle, looked worn and exhausted. Still he had no false hopes of him losing his edge. Highly skilled and trained for years, knowing every spell in the duelist book, chosen for his nearly unmatched loyalty – this one was perhaps his strongest foe yet.

Yet, to our assailant there could be only one end to this; failure was not an option. His devotion would come through for him, he knew it would. A rare smile crept across his face, displaying him like a madman, but he could not care. He closed his eyes, concentrating, but only for a second. Time was not, could not be wasted – each moment was a decision that could tip the scales in his favor.

He was ready, like never before – studying, waiting, hoping for his opponent to make his mistake. "Traitor! They will send you to Azkaban for this…" the ministry badge wearing fighter hissed, his voice echoing of the colorless walls. The blue flames from the numerous torches danced in an invisible wind, adding to the eerie mood in the room. Bodies of unconscious ministry personnel on guard duty along with the few steins of blood gave the impression of a torture chamber – and indeed it had been. At least to him - He didn't want this, but there were no way around it.

"You could never understand…" he said in a hoarse, near whisper. "We were brothers!" Silence followed, but only on the apparent outside. Inside, he could hear his pulse rising, sudden hatred fueling his senses. It was threatening to blind him, overpower him like it had done before. He drew in a deep breath, calming himself, getting ready.

The magic summoned by the two powerful wizards, even when the battle was at a still stand like this, was way beyond anything he had ever felt. How he had gathered the power to reach this point, he would never know.

"_Stupefy_" his opponent suddenly cried, breaking the, perhaps only seconds long standoff. A beam of red light erupted from his wand, soaring full speed towards the man in the shabby robes.

With reflexes beyond those of any normal man, he threw himself sideways - the beam missing his left shoulder by nothing more than a few inches. To any spectator this might have seemed like the hour of defeat, but he had expected it all along, and his gray eyes lighted in triumph. He could feel the last of his enemy's power connect with the wall behind him, as he readied his counter-move.

"_Impediamenta"_ he whispered, not having the strength of voice to anything else. The air collapsed around the orange beam as it erupted from the old wand. Even before the spell had been cast, both combatants had known it would hit.

The lifeless form of the last unspeakable flew through the room without a sound and collided with the wall with a hollow thud. It was over, he had won. Deep inside him, he had expected it all along. He ran his fingers through his light-brown hair, thinking for second.

He turned around to face what be brought, the reason for what he had done today, actually the reason for all of it. His eyes became emotionless within seconds, and his hands shook lightly with suppressed anger. He had always been good at hiding his feelings and emotions but not today.

"_Locomotor Corpus_" he muttered, as he began walking towards the one of the doors. Behind him floated a tied and gagged middle-aged man. He looked very starved and unhealthy, although he was a bit on the chubby side. He was unconscious at the moment. He had been put to rest when his captor had gotten tired of his pleas and his whining.

The door which he meant to pass through, glowed a strange reddish color, the man in the shabby robes noted, as he started pulling various things out of his bag. To any merchant, these precious artifacts and old books couldn't be measured in gold alone – they were priceless. A slight frown alongside a sad look appeared for a second on his face, but such was his dedication that even attacks on old friends and stealing didn't concern him.

"It is time… " He whispered to himself, opening his hand to reveal a crystal glass ball filled with a red liquid substance. He closed his eyes and muttered the ancient words of enchantment that would grant him entrance. The ball started shaking, before suddenly flying out of his hand like had an enormous magnet attracted it. It stopped a few inches from the door, floating in mid-air.

The picture of a beautiful red-head, laughing, smiling, appeared in his mind, as he recited the next line of the enchantment words. It almost broke his focus, but a single tear down his cheek brought him back. "This is for you too… Lily" he whispered as the glass ball exploded in a great shower of glass. The liquid substance from within now covered the door and a near silent hissing could be heard. The liquid slowly ate through the middle portion of the door, and the man and his prisoner moved through.

The chamber before them was vast without comparing. Surrounded by four enormous pillars was some kind of elevated, levitating disc with four robe bridges leading up to it. The pillars, each in a different color, looked like their surfaces were made of flashes of light. Examining it closer our intruder could make out various events he remembered from his History of Magic classes all those years ago.

The ancient roman conjurers rebellion, the rise of the first Egyptian Pharaoh, the Viking shaman raids, the opening of the first port key to America and lastly a moving picture of the Apocalypse Spell in full function. He shuddered, as he remembered having calculated the power of the spell – and how many lives it ended.

The Muggles called it the nuclear bomb and thought of course that it was an invention of theirs, but that thought just made him shiver once again. To think what they would do if they really had that kind of power in their hands.

He pulled himself away from the pillar, realizing he couldn't afford to stray for a moment from his mission. It was everything now. He slowly walked over to his prisoner, holding his wand in combat position – like an executioner his eyes showed no mercy. They used to, but not now.

He kneeled down and removed the gag that prevented his victim from speaking and stepped back slowly, not dropping his guard for a moment. "_Enervate"_

"Please let me go…" the unhealthy chubby man cried, wrestling with the robes. "This is not you, please show mercy!" he continued, not realizing yet that it was utterly futile. The tired looking man would have smiled at these attempts had it not been for the burning hatred ringing in his ears.

"Remus…" the chubby man whispered. "Moony, old friend you would do…" but he didn't finish. A deep cut, running from his right ear, across his mouth had silenced him immediately. "How dare you speak that name? You are not allowed!" Remus yelled, fighting back the immediate killing curse. "You betrayed us Peter – and now you will pay the price!"

Surprisingly a smile appeared on the Werewolf's lips. "Ironic isn't it…" he said with a distant look as if remembering an old memory. "Remember the pact that we made on our graduation night? The one about the four Marauders, how we would always be there for each other until only one was left?" A mad laugh escaped him, making the once shy, hard working boy look nothing short of a maniac.

"Ironic that it should be you – the betrayer – that gave me the opportunity to make it all right." He paused. "Because tonight… there will truly only be one marauder left!" he spat. Tears welled up in his eyes as he a clear memory of a time long forgotten appeared in his mind.

_Four boys were standing around a simple wooden torch in what seemed a dark dungeon room. The flames were dancing lightly in the cold breeze, lighting up the faces of the infamous Marauders. Each wore a face of sadness, and anyone who would look upon at that moment would have thought them unhappy. And in a way that were, but then again this was a very special moment. The silence seemed to steal away their emotions, but if you knew them better than the average student you would have known them to be deep in thought._

_A dark haired, handsome boy gathered the courage to break the silence. "We did it…" he stated simply. The others lifted their faces, staring directly into the eyes of their leader. "We really did it!" he continued. He cleared his throat, and withdrew a small piece of parchment out of his pocket. Each of the three tall boys tried hard not to smile, this was a peculiar moment for them indeed. The fourth boy, the small, chubby one just looked bewildered._

_We were and will always be Brothers_

_I stand here – on this – our last day,_

_and even though I know I should rejoice_

_now that school and homework has ended_

_I cannot._

_For this is the ending of something special too:_

_A special bond - something more than friendship_

_Bound by loyalty and our experiences_

_I know this: _

_I am forever grateful for the years we shared _

_What ever happens we will always be Brothers_

_Not a word was uttered following his last word, and for once male pride was forgotten as loud sniffs could be heard coming from each of the boys. "Prongs man…" another of the boys that looked just like him, black hair and everything said in an unusual high pinched voice. "That was… beautiful!"_

Remus shook his head, clearing out the thoughts. He brushed away the tear that had rolled down his cheek; Sirius always surprised them in the strangest moments. Normally, when they were in school, he had been just like James before he changed: Arrogant, bullying and egoistical. But sometimes, at moments like that he would say or do something that was completely out of his non-serious character.

He sniffed loudly, as he remembered back a few months. To that horrible day when he had lost the last of his best friends – again. Anger and hatred cursed through him again as he turned his eyes back towards _the rat!_

For a moment he felt an immense desire to cause him as much pain as he possibly could – the Cruciatus curse actually seemed like a good idea. But a second later, the real Remus Lupin reappeared inside him again, and he felt disgusted with himself. He turned away, trying hard not to look at his squirming, whining prisoner. "Remus…" the tied up traitor cried as loud as he could. "Please! Let me go, let me go – I didn't mean it to happen… Let me go!"

The echo of the pathetic pleas rang of the gloomy chamber walls, long after another silencing charm had been uttered.

The strangest feelings and senses rushed through the werewolf's body, while he studied the other things he had brought. It could, perhaps, be the otherworldly chamber in which he currently was – but somehow he knew it wasn't that.

Saying this would be self denial and he understood again, as he took the next thing from his bag, why he had done all the horrible things that had led up to this point.

_A nervous young man was pacing around the Gryffindor common room, probably deep in thought. He had no idea he was being watched, but his two best friends just couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. Or rather; Sirius couldn't._

"_Tell me again why we are spying on our best friend?" Remus whispered to his black haired comrade. They were both crouched beside a couch furthest away, wearing James' invisibility cloak._

"_Shhh… Because he needs us for moral support if he fails of course!" Sirius replied as-a-matter-of-factly, as if the question had been a very stupid one. "And besides it's better we know what happens without having to worm it out of him later…"_

_The werewolf shook his head disapprovingly. This made no sense at all to him, and if they were there for moral support why didn't they make their presence known?_

"_But why do…" but he didn't argue further as the portrait hole suddenly swung open, revealing a beatiful redhead. The golden light in the room made her emerald green eyes stand out remarkably even from afar. There was something 'amazing' about them, as James had reminded them every day for the last two years._

_In her arms she carried at least four big books, probably fresh from the library. She didn't look tired, only a little grumpy but that was about to change. She had heard someone walking around, and looked up to identify the perpetrator that refused to go to bed, at one in the morning. Her facial attitude changed immediately when she recognized the student, but it was really hard to determine her reaction. _

_At first, Remus thought, she had a dreamy expression, actually looking infatuated for a second - but moments later an all too familiar frown appeared on her beautiful face. She stood in silence for a few seconds observing her co-head student who had obviously not seen her, as he still had his back to her. She opened her mouth to speak, to gain his attention, but unknowingly he cut her off as he began to talk out loud to himself._

"_Ahem… Lily. I know we haven't been the best of friends always – and I know I have asked you out eighty three times during the last two years… but I really hope you can see that I have changed…" James began, but stopped, shaking his head at the words he chose._

"_No that's rubbish… I need to let her now how I feel about her." He drew in a big amount of air and let it out again, trying to concentrate, to calm his nerves._

"_Lily… You may not know it, but you have changed everything for me. You have enthralled me… with your encouraging smile and your fiery hair and…" but again he trailed of, leaving the sentence un-ended. He put a hand to his hair and ran it through several times in succession, looking very nervous._

"_Calm yourself James…" he whispered to himself, as he tried to re-focus his breath once again. To Remus it was indeed strange to see Prongs, their leader, cool and calm Quidditch Hero James Potter in such a state. If it hadn't been for the past two years of endless Lily talk, he would have thought him jinxed._

"_Why don't you just tell her?" James said to himself in a different, almost scared voice. "Because I can't! She won't believe me!" he continued, having obviously started a conversation with himself. _

"_Just tell her? Sounds so easy… But what should I say?" He started laughing nervously. _

"_Tell her: Lily - I love you?" he began in a little voice. "Tell her that I want to spend every moment awake by her side? Tell her how much just a simply smile from her lips changes my day, that a single touch of her hand sends endless shivers down my spine, causing my heart to jump in joy?"_

_Complete silence followed his last words. James seemed on the edge of a breakdown, the fear of rejection probably taking its toll on him Remus concluded._

_Lily on the other hand was stunned beyond words, and so was Remus. Sure, James had probably talked about nothing else than her since the end of their fifth year but still. That he really meant it that much, that it wasn't just empty words like he had used to get so many girls, well; that was almost terrifying._

_A quiet sob suddenly broke everyone back to reality, including James who almost fell over from spinning around so fast. The color in his face drained in a second as he recognized Lily, being the one crying._

_Neither of them sad a word. James normally known for his courage and true Gryffindor spirit didn't even try to make a move. Lily just stood there looking him deep in his eyes, probably trying to determine if he meant it or not. She too seemed so scared, and besides James no-one in all of Gryffindor was more daring than her._

_Suddenly, Lily made a quick move forward – possibly even without wanting too – and kissed James on the lips. It lasted only a few seconds, then Lily broke apart with a look of anticipation and fear written all over her beautiful face. For many moments, nothing happened – Lily backing slightly away, having her worst fear come true as James did nothing. Her eyes were now on the ground, and even from afar you could see a single tear fall._

_And then, suddenly James snapped out of his state of shock, and with one step he was in front of her. Without asking, or even trying to read the look on her face, he took his hand to her chin, lifted her head up to level, and brushed away the tear. From their position they could see him mouthing "I meant every word Lily…"_

_James tilted his head slowly, as Lily closed her eyes. Their lips brushed against each other ever so lightly before James buried his hands deeply in Lily's hair and their kiss deepened._

"_I'm sorry James, I…" she began after they finally broke apart, but he had silenced her with another kiss, while hugging her like he never wanted to let go. They looked so happy, Remus thought, now that they finally have each other. Suddenly a strange sound, as if a wounded puppy was howling, could be heard as Sirius jumped free of the invisibility cloak and tackled the two to the ground._

A loud hollow thud brought the werewolf back to the present. Surprisingly he found himself on his knees, soundless tears falling from his eyes. This room did strange things to him, he could feel it. These memories of the past – they seemed to vivid, so real. That day in particular.

He hadn't thought about that day since Lily and James died. It had just felt too sad to dwell on such a happy memory in such a sad time, but now it actually felt good.

"Sirius used to fear that day…" he said to darkness of the room, as if someone who wanted to hear the story was hiding in there. "He feared the day when James and Lily finally got together more than anything."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his battle worn face. "He was so afraid of losing his best friend – his brother, and in the end it turned out he gained a sister."

With bowed head he turned around to identify the origin of the sound from before. The sight before him used to make him feel pity, but right now he couldn't even remember why.

"I never understood why Peter…" he said in a calm, but slightly shaken voice. "Why did you sell your friends? The people who had protected you – helped you – treated you like a brother! Why did you betray us?"

With a simple wand movement he removed the silence spell, waiting for the thrashing form of the traitor to speak. Only whimpering came. Maybe he had lost the ability to speak, Remus wondered. He wouldn't put it past this pathetic piece of vermin to be affected this way. How he had managed to stay hidden for all those years, stupid as he is, was an unsolvable mystery even to Remus Lupin, and he had always been praised for his cool logic.

"Considering how you have managed to avoid authorities and dark wizards alike for so many years, I must say I was surprised to see how easy it was to capture you!" he taunted hoping for a response.

Truth be told he couldn't exactly remember how he did it. When he thought back it was like there was a giant black hole in his memory from the moment he opened the door to _the rat's_ hiding place, until he reached the front gates of the ministry. Strange.

"You – You are a monster…" the chubby bald man suddenly squeaked. Remus turned and observed him closely. He seemed just as scared, maybe even more now than before and still he spoke?

"Monster…" he whimpered, but his voice grew more distant by the second.

_Drops of nervous sweat ran swiftly down his head, dropping down on his shaking hands. His eyes were on the ground, but they weren't looking at anything. Several times he had tried to say something but not a word came…_

"_We know Remus…" his too comrades suddenly said in unison. Each was wearing a deep frown. _

_This was the day he had feared since beginning his education at Hogwarts a little over a year ago. Ohh how good it had felt to have friends. Friends who actually cared about him and liked him. But it had been borrowed time. _

_Maybe he should be grateful it had lasted this long – but somehow that could never make sense to him._

"_Why didn't you tell us…" Sirius said in a strange voice. He didn't sound very accusing, only wondering. The werewolf looked up, knowing that he couldn't put it off any longer. There was no point in trying to bluff his way out – he might as well put the words in their mouths._

"_Because… Because I was afraid that -– that you would desert me…" he stuttered, fighting to hold back a strangling feeling in his throat. He slowly rose from his chair – knowing that it would be the last time he would ever sit here with his friends._

"_Wait…" James said, grabbing his arm. He sighed deeply. "You may be a werewolf – but that doesn't change a thing…"_

_Remus turned slowly expecting the 'but' to come. A strange emptiness filled his head. He looked briefly at Sirius, who actually smiled?_

"_He's right mate – doesn't change a thing…" he echoed, a mischievous twinge forming on his smile. "Maybe you could bite old Snivellus for us?"_

_Genuine laughs escaped his lips, before he could stop himself. The truth slowly dawned on him; true friends did exist. And they didn't go away._

"_Look Remus, mate – we would never leave you - never!" James said in a very definite._

"Never…" he whispered. For long moments he just sat there, resembling the statue of a broken man, before shaking his head. He couldn't let these old memories interfere with his mission. The memory had taken a visible, unexplainable toll on his strength. Even standing seemed difficult in this room.

A muffled scream came from behind him, and he slowly turned knowing that it was time for the final act. He watched his captive squirm in agony, his eyes rolling as he too was trapped in a memory.

"Looks like the Cruciatus…" he remarked dryly without a hint of emotion. He reached inside his shabby robe and pulled out – what appeared to be – a folded page from a very old book. Just looking at these instructions was banned by the strictest of ministry laws he knew – getting it hadn't been easy. A powerful memory was about to overcome him as the screaming behind him stopped. The immense silence made him stay in reality, at least for now.

He unfolded the paper slowly, before casting his glance to the instructions for the last time. Even though it was only a copy of the original (which had been written in flesh and some sort of creature blood) Remus could feel the dark aura emanate from the paper.

"It is time…" he whispered once more as he took a blank piece of parchment from his bag. He took once last glance at it before adding it to the circle of items he had made in the middle of the room.

He sighed deeply, knowing that it would be one of his last breaths ever. At least in this life. Somehow he couldn't help wonder, as he lifted his wand, if fate existed. Was he meant to be here today or was it all a glitch?

"Aetus nuvo" he began chanting as he arranged the items he had brought into a perfect circle. A weak purple glow suddenly surrounded each relic as they began spinning slowly. Suddenly blue flames erupted around each item – but somehow they weren't burned to ashes. The spinning intensified as Remus Lupin, the last of the marauders, quickened his chanting.

Soon the relics were spinning to fast to distinguish which was which and slowly the purple circle began hovering. A strange, heavenly tune suddenly emitted from the circle almost breaking his concentration. It was so calming, like he had no worries. Luckily he had long ago learned that his life always had worries, and then the circle kept spinning.

'Phoenix song' he thought as he recognized the strength filling characteristic. So beautiful, so healing… so wrong in a place like this.

And then, without warning or nothing the music stopped. It was as silent as a tomb; even Wormtail's whimper had stopped in the face of this ancient magic. The power-up of the "Gate of Aetus" (as the book had called it) was now complete, and he had stopped chanting to admire his work.

A curl of the end his lips were all that symbolized his pride, for now was not the time. Using his wand as a conductor's baton he placed the whimpering form of the traitor just above the now deep black hole.

The magic light that had inhabited the room was now only a distant memory, and only the eerie purple glow now brought any sense of light. It wasn't how he had pictured ending this life, but it was the only way. And if it worked…

His heart jumped a bit at the prospect, but he calmed down quickly as he remembered that no one who had ever tried this had lived to tell the tale.

He wasn't afraid of death – hadn't been for a long time. Sometimes he even found himself smiling at it. No, death had scared him since he was 22 years old – for in order to fear dying you must have something to leave behind. And he had nothing… not anymore!

"_Spirit of time – guardian of fate; heed my call_

_Answer me with the power to undo_

_Grant me the way through the gate_

_To a time never forgotten"_

Remus' voice was now not his own as he continued the ancient incantation.

"_Accept the relics of time;_

_What the gate must mend - and what it must leave behind._

_The key to the past - and the element of the present._

_That which brought us together - and he who tore us apart."_

The gate had answered every request with a short blink made by each of the items in turn. The ring around the deep black hole had slowly risen, so that it now formed some sort of doorway.

"Time for the last relic…" Remus sighed. This was perhaps his worst and greatest moment. His whole life he had feared accidentally killing someone while in his werewolf form – and now it was the only way out. Murder.

It had been the tool of his enemies, and now he would have to kill someone too. Someone defenseless. He sighed deeply as he leveled his eyes with the hovering figure in front of the portal. Had it been any other person he would have had second thoughts and quit – but no. He couldn't.

"It seems Peter…" he began, his tongue dry as sand. "It seems that this is it. The end." He was visible shaking now. "_Why?_ The question has haunted me forever you know. Even from before I knew it was you." He paused briefly, observing the traitor for the last time.

"I wondered the same thing about Sirius – but I couldn't find any reason. That's why I realized that it was you all along the second I saw you alive in the Shrieking Shack two and a half years ago…"

Suddenly he laughed. It wasn't his usual merry laughter that had kept his spirits up during their Hogwarts years. No. It was a crazy manic cackle worthy of Bellatrix Lestrange herself. He didn't know why he laughed, and he never would.

"Goodbye Wormtail…" he whispered when the echoes of his laugh had died down. "May your death bring life to those that fate forgot. _Veneficus Sacrificum_"

Only moments after the dark red beam had escaped his wand did it hit the whimpering form of his former friend. The screams of pain only lasted a second or two, but they were louder, more chilling and filled with agony than anything he had ever heard. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the effect as the spell granted the blood of the victim to the gate it self.

And then it was over. Remus knew by instinct that he had made it. The gate was complete and his real mission could now begin. No one would ever know if he succeeded. No one would ever thank he or be happy for what he did. For they wouldn't know – and neither would he.

Slowly he walked to the center of the black hole. He had expected to fall through or something similar but nothing happened at first. Then suddenly, the blackness intensified. As if it was a bottomless pit, that suddenly turned liquid. Slowly, like small waterfalls it spread from the altar to the rest of the room.

When it reached the walls it didn't stop, instead it appeared to be swallowing everything in it's path. Everything but him.

The strange music from before suddenly started again but this time he understood it. It was as an echo of his motives, his desires, his pain. It was the reason why he had today harmed those he cared about, betrayed the trust of all and killed an unarmed man. It was love.

_For you Sirius – because I didn't believe you. You who risked everything and paid the ultimate price. Twelve years alone, trapped in your nightmares and still you forgave me the moment I knew. For being my friend through life, even when either of us didn't deserve it._

_For you James – because I couldn't save you. You who was the first to like me, to help me. When you knew, you didn't back away – no you stayed and risked your future to ease the pain. For being my friend through life, even when the darkness came._

_For you Lily – because I needn't help you. You who knew the side of me that I never showed. And when you finally realized what we had known along, you became the sister I never had. For being my friend through life, even when you didn't know me._

_For you Harry – because I never I knew you. You who faced dangers that would make others cry in fear. You who have never been truly loved. Born into a legend which you should not have faced alone. This is for you – a second chance._

And then it all went black and silent. Oblivion came to this time, for the past was now not the same.

Fate had been altered. Legend had been rewritten.


End file.
